Hi, I am wanting to travel from Bruges to Amsterdam and then from Amsterdam to Paris. I am looking to buy two tickets for the separate legs but I am not sure what reservations means for me in this context. Can I just buy journey tickets? Can it be done from Australia and I be sent an email of the ticket? Or should I wait until I get to Bruges and make arrangements from there? I have only a few days in each city. thanks
Darcy
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19109 posts
Reservations might mean a "seat reservation", usually optional, for a few Euro. Paying for that reservation means you will have a seat and not have to stand. Some trains require a seat reservation, also for a few Euro. If they are required they will be included in the counter price of the ticket. On trains where a seat reservation is required, a pass holder will have to buy it separately, either online or at the station. If you are using a rail pass, some "premium" trains, such as Thalys, are not completely covered by a rail pass and require payment of a additional supplement to ride them. Such trains almost always have mandatory seat reservations, which come with paying the supplement, so the supplements are sometime erroneously referred to as "reservation" fee.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You can get discount fares by booking in advance. What are your travel dates?
Posted by
OP
Canberra, Australia
5 posts
I am travelling from Bruges to Amsterdam on 16th October and then Amsterdam to Paris on 19th October. I am looking to travel on the Thalys option for both legs - want to get there fast. I would like to lock in the trips so that I can then lock in my accommodation in Amsterdam. Any help much appreciated as I just can't seem to get my head around the ticket/reservation aspect.
Darcy
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
On Thalys, your ticket and seat reservation are one and the same. For Brugge to Amsterdam, NMBS, the national rail service of Belgium, operates the first leg of the trip to Antwerp. All Belgian trains have open seating with no reservations offered. You then catch the Thalys train at Antwerp to Amsterdam. Although I'm not 100% positive, I'm pretty sure you don't have to buy separate tickets for each segment of your journey. And note because there are no seat reservations on NMBS, you can take any train from Brugge to Antwerp.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32876 posts
Just to be perfectly clear, Darcy, you are speaking of buying actual tickets rather than using any kind of rail pass with added reservations, right?
Posted by
OP
Canberra, Australia
5 posts
Yes, I am wanting to purchase train tickets - I will not have a Rail pass, not over there that long. And I wanted to get my train tickets booked and ready for those dates - might be being a little over-the-top, could possibly wait until I'm over there but it would be good for my psyche to have it booked in now.
thanks everyone.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Darcy: You're not being "over the top" in getting these now. The Thalys uses an airline-style pricing model, where the seats get more expensive closer to the day of travel, and can sell out for popular times. Go to http://www.thalys.com to book your tickets. The seat reservations will be included. I believe these tickets can be printed out at your computer; if not, you would pick them up at the station. I haven't bought Thalys tickets myself. Just playing around with the site, I see that Amsterdam to Paris is easy, but Bruges to Amsterdam is harder. You have to "All other Belgian Stations (ABS)" as your origin, and the route takes you through Ghent and Antwerp. I'm not sure if it would be easier just to book a ticket from Brussels to Amsterdam, and a separate ticket from Bruges to Brussels. Others here will know more.